College Baseball: No. 10 AASU 6, No. 8 GCSU 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-24-08

College Baseball: No. 10 AASU 6, No. 8 GCSU 2

SAVANNAH, Ga. (February 24) – The Armstrong Atlantic State baseball squad won its seventh straight game against a top 10-ranked opponent with a 6-2 Peach Belt Conference victory over visiting No. 8-ranked GCSU on Sunday afternoon at Pirate Field.

The No. 8-ranked Pirates (7-0, 1-0 PBC) halted the Bobcats’ nine-game win streak and remained undefeated on the young season thanks to a solid pitching performance by lefthander Cody Walden (2-0) and the bat of senior first baseman Joey Davis. Walden limited the Bobcats to five hits and two runs – one earned – in seven innings, collecting 13 ground ball outs and four strikeouts.

Davis, meanwhile, snapped a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning with his team-leading fourth home run, a two-run shot to left field that gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead. The senior added RBIs on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and a suicide squeeze in the seventh, finishing the day with four runs driven in.

GCSU (9-3, 0-1 PBC) started off the day well, loading the bases with one out against Walden, but the Bobcats could only push across one run on Danny McCorkell’s RBI fielder’s choice. The Bobcats added a run in the sixth on Matt Pitts’ RBI single, but right fielder Nick Pyron prevented any further damage when he cut down McCorkell at the plate trying to score, ending the inning.

Bobcat starter Sean Heimpel (1-2) took the loss for GCSU, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up 11 hits and six runs, while striking out five.

The win also snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bobcats that dated back to the 2005 season. The two teams will wrap up the PBC series with a doubleheader on Monday beginning at 11:00 a.m.

- Pirates -